Wiped
by Camilla.33
Summary: Kindness is a rarity Bucky Barnes has not been exposed to for over 70 years. When he unexpectedly meets someone who gives him just that she sticks in his shattered mind. Really short one-shot about Bucky and an OC not necessarily romantic but can be. Also this covers some parts of Civil War (not in explicit detail, but SPOILER WARNING anyway). EDITED


**A/N:**  
 **Hey guys! I know I have another story that's kind of on-going right now, but this struck me at like... 3AM this morning and I couldn't let it go. As you can probably tell I just watched Civil War and was (rightly) completely taken with it (especially Bucky, sweet jesus he needs a hug I swear).**

 **For those who maybe don't get why she's being brought in at the beginning she's Pierce's daughter and got caught snooping on him for S.H.I.E.L.D. It wasn't something I really felt the need to go into detail about because this is all pretty much from Bucky's point of view and he never really finds out about that.**

 **Anyway, I wanted to try a slightly different style of writing so this will probably be a little choppy compared to what I normally write.**

* * *

He's between wipes the first time he meets her.

He's seen her face before, smiling out of picture frames littered around Pierce's house. It's different now; twisted in pain or anger he can't tell, but it's worlds away from the expressions he vaguely remembers seeing. She's not screaming, but she's thrashing so hard she almost knocks her escorts over as they march her in. They secure her to the safety boxes on the wall of the vault and march out with one last punch. She slumps against the wall motionless and Bucky's attention is pulled inward as a technician sets to work on his damaged arm.

It's not until Pierce himself walks in that Bucky pays her any real attention. His mind is elsewhere – with the man on the bridge, the man from the train so long ago – and his cybernetic arm is sending shocks into his shoulder from where the technician has been working. She's still slumped against the wall but stiffens as he walks in. They exchange words but it's all white noise to him until they're asking for the mission report and all he can think of is the man on the bridge – the man he _knows_ even though he's been frozen for god knows how long – and the way she watches him with an expression he can't place.

When they shove him back into the chair to be wiped he cooperates soundlessly. The mouth guard slots into his mouth like a perfectly molded bit and the chair clamps down hard on his arms. She screams before the machine even comes to life and he glances at her – curious of what horror they're inflicting upon her – only to find her eyes riveted on him. It's strange and foreign, the sympathy and the kindness, and it sticks in his mind even as it comes apart and his own screaming begins.

He doesn't think of her again until after the shit storm that is the Potomac and Project Insight's horrendous failure. He's planning his escape – his mind buzzing, truth and lies and _pain_ blurring together seamlessly thanks to HYDRA – when her face ricochets across his memory.

He doesn't know why he goes back – some part of him, the practical side is shaking his head in disapproval for his _spectacular_ lack of rational thinking – but he goes back all the same.

When he walks into the vault she's half collapsed on the floor, arms suspended above her head. He has to try hard not to let his mind asses the damage and figure out exactly what they did to her. So he yanks her bindings from the wall in one movement and drags her out past her now dead guards before she even fully registers he's there. He's half tempted to just leave her now that she's free, but she's staggering uselessly and he can see the dried blood on her face and neck. He hauls her as far into civilizations as he's willing to risk and then points her in the general direction of the hospital with a grunt. He's gone before she can even think to thank him.

. . . . .

He doesn't see her again – hell he doesn't even know if she got to the hospital, let alone if she's _alive_ – until Vienna goes up in smoke.

He's in some kind of mobile detention unit made of what looks like bulletproof glass. It's being pulled out of an armored vehicle and onto a heavy-duty forklift when she appears out of the crowd. He's almost relieved to see her – maybe just happy she wasn't indirectly part of his ever-growing body count – and that annoys him more than anything. She walks beside his cell as it's moved and he eyes her cautiously as her voice – the sound of her screaming, screaming for mercy for _him_ – resonates in his ears.

"I remember you."

When she turns to look at him he sees the same kindness he had witnessed in D.C. – the kindness that _made_ him remember her – buried beneath a healthy dose of wariness and surprise.

"So do I." Then after a pause; "Olivia Pierce at your service."

"Bucky."

"I know."

The smile that twists her lips is two parts mischief and one part benevolence. He thinks her smile will stay burned into his mind long after she's called away to other work.

It's not until Steve brings up his body count that her smile, that wicked curve at the corners of her lips, crosses his mind again. He wakes up with his arm in a vice and all he thinks – besides _shit that hurts_ and _motherfucker_ – is _god what did I do._ And of course the answer turns out to be that he leveled a small army of agents and, apparently, crashed a helicopter. There's a drop in his gut that only gets worse as Steve questions him and he wills his conscience to be quiet.

. . . . .

Days later, he watches her step out of a non-descript car she and another agent used to smuggle their weapons. The falcon – or _dick_ as Bucky likes to think of him since he'd pinned his legs beneath the seat – rolls down his window and she wanders over to speak with him quietly. She the same as ever, but there's a bruise blooming along her jaw that catches his eye when she turns to watch Steve and the agent. It's dark – startlingly so against her naturally pale complexion – and looks distinctly like a hand. He feels the guilt settle into his chest – the only emotion he can properly place, what with being so well acquainted with it – so he focuses on Steve and the other agent instead.

When they part, the other woman wishes them luck and Olivia murmurs a soft "be careful" that he thinks is aimed in his direction. He mutters a "you too, doll" before he can stop himself, and he mentally kicks himself – especially as time goes on and Steve insists on giving him cheeky looks in the rearview mirror.

. . . . .

His mind drifts back to her again as he goes back into cryo. The freeze is creeping up his limbs and his jumbled thoughts hit him point blank – a scream, a smile, a bruise, "be careful". He's regretful as he thinks of her, this woman he barely knows but the first to show him kindness in this new life – even before Steve himself. He pictures her face in his mind, alongside Steve – the two kindest individuals in his shit show life – and lets the ice take him.

* * *

 **So? Good? Bad? Weird? Constructive criticism is always helpful!**

 **It's super short I know... I might continue it with when Bucky comes out of** **cryo and all that jazz or maybe I'll make a story. I know I'm always saying that but I always want to and then chicken out of a full length story.**


End file.
